How Europe Can Seize the Starring Role in Big Data
On the world stage, it is clear who enjoys the starring role in the Internet-sphere. It’s safe to say that the US has given the Oscar-winning performance while Europe has played a distinctly supporting role. Consider this: globally, US-based companies represent close to 67% of the total market capitalization of public Internet companies while European companies account for less than 4% . Britain, Germany and France combined have 15 Internet firms valued at over $1 billion while the US alone has 87. Europe is yet to produce its own champions on the scale of Google, Facebook and Twitter. Tellingly, in fact, Google accounts for a larger share of the European search market than it does of its home market.
Early signs indicate that history might well repeat itself as we enter the age of Big Data. As many as 17 of the top 20 Big Data companies belong to the US, while only 2 come from Europe. With trillions of dollars worth of economic and social value at stake, Europe can’t afford to be left looking from the wings once again.
